China Going Non-Smoking
One of the things I like least about China is the smoking. Here in Seattle, we have one of the toughest (if not the toughest) non-smoking laws in the United States. It is illegal to smoke in any public place, including a bar, and it is even illegal to smoke within 25 feet of an entrance. I LOVE IT.
This obviously contrasts with China where no matter what the signs say, smoking seems to go on just about everywhere. But, that may soon be changing as Xinhua reports today that "China's Ministry of Health is to revise regulations in order to ban smoking in public areas, public transport and indoor work places:"
Ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an said it had started a revision of the regulations on health management in public areas, which would be submitted to the central government for examination and approval.
"Educational and medical institutions, and places offering services to children will be among the first places with smoking bans," he said.
The revision is designed to offer policy support in the run-up to a non-smoking Beijing Olympic Games.
Though my political fiber is in a state of constant rebellion against governmental controls -- particularly those from one that has that has not been elected -- my lungs and every other part of my body are screaming, please yes, please yes, please yes. CLB will keep you posted on the status of this vital law.
Comments (38)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endMyrick - December 12, 2006 11:08 PM
Of course, a law would have to be enforced as well as passed. Given that non-smoking zones in China are generally disregarded, I wouldn't expect this to have much impact.
That said, I would love to have non-smoking restaurants, or at least some more with sizable non-smoking sections.
Hui Mao - December 13, 2006 12:19 AM
These new regulations are nice but enforcement will be a problem. There are lots of places where smoking is not allowed in China, for example on trains. But have you ever been on any Chinese train where this is enforced?
Lonnie - December 13, 2006 12:22 AM
I love Hong Kong for passing the law banning smoking in public places...
Between the pollution and the huge clouds in restaurants I have become a 10-pack a day smoker without touching a cigarette...
Shu Jierui - December 13, 2006 12:55 AM
This is certainly welcome news from those of us who often make the trek up to Beijing. A smoking ban has also passed the Legco here in Hong and and is set to take effect on 1 January 2007. The government has given residents advanced notice of about six months, apparently to help them adapt to the stricter policy. Perhaps, like "one-country, two-systems" and Taiwan, we can follow this pilot project in HK to see how it may play out in the Mainland. I'm an optimist by nature, but as you've so often pointed out, it is not the Mainland's regulatory framework that is necessarily inadequate, but rather its enforcement ability.
richard - December 13, 2006 8:36 AM
At the sauna near my Beijing apartment, guys would smoke in the hot tub, which I didn't even know was scientifically possible, since the air is so wet.
I, too, am in favor of smoking bans. But even if such legislation passes, is there any way it could possibly be enforced in China?
nani - December 13, 2006 11:21 AM
i don't think this is really about supporting Olympic Games policy, in which case the ban would simply leave alone public areas outside Beijing.
in fact, the cost of labor force loss and medical welfare due to smoking has exceeded the taxes the tobacco industry paid, according to ??????.
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 3:42 PM
Myrick (AP)--
Thanks for checking in. I completely agree on all points.
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 3:43 PM
Hui Mao --
Thanks for checking in. I agree enforcement will be a big problem, but perhaps the law will serve as a good first step. I think I will do a post on the law as an aspirational device.
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 3:44 PM
Lonnie --
Thanks for checking in. Me being a Seattleite, I think about these things and wonder how many packs a day I am smoking when breathing Shanghai/Beijing air.
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 3:49 PM
Shu Jierui --
Thanks for checking in.
How does HK compare to the Mainland in terms of smoking? I know how it compares in terms of compliance with laws and so I am not so sure how things go in HK will be much of an indication of how things will go on the Mainland. I agree enforcement is the key, but I am also of the view that enacting a law can still be a good first step. I'm planning to do a post on that idea soon.
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 3:51 PM
Richard (Peking Duck) --
Thanks for checking in. I think you are asking the wrong question regarding smoking in a hot tub. I think rather than asking how, you should be asking why. Reminds me of the health clubs in some of the hotels in China where you see people smoking in the locker room before and after their workout. Are they working out so as to increase their lung capacity so as to be able to pull in more carcinigens?
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 3:54 PM
Nani --
Thanks for checking in. I completely agree with you that this really has nothing to do with the 2008 Olympics and I cannot understand why Xinhua drew the linkage.
Lonnie - December 13, 2006 5:21 PM
My biggest shock in this one came when I went to visit Ms Yue after her cancer surgery...The relatives of three other patients were in the halls, bathrooms and stairwells smoking on a regular basis...
Chris - December 13, 2006 6:45 PM
Finally, a sweeping ban of something I can get behind. Here's hoping it works.
Mixing smoking with physical exertion continues to amaze me. I climbed HuaShan mountain, near Xi'an, back in August with four students. The one who was always charging up those rather steep flights of stairs, always grunting "go, go" was never without a cigarette in his mouth. Whenever we stopped to rest, other climbers would immediately light up.
Maybe I've been going about this whole exercise thing all wrong...
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 7:03 PM
Lonnie --
Ah, smoking in a hospital. That makes sense.
nani - December 13, 2006 7:05 PM
Chinese media, especially xinhua mentioned here, has long been a propaganda machine of authorities more than it is about independent and truthful jounalism.
more ironically, in August, xinhua was slammed, for its exaggerated stories about flooded Fujian, by local news agancies and online journalism. a big event of this year's cyber world.
>>"...and I cannot understand why Xinhua drew the linkage."
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 7:06 PM
Chris --
It is crazy. A friend of mine who recently climbed Mt. Taishon said that people stopping to smoke greatly impeded his enjoyment of the climb. What I find interesting though is that I am not aware of a single lawyer with whom we work in China (and this is throughout China) who smokes. So is there a reverse correlation between education and smoking in China?
Romain Guerel (French working in Beijing) - December 13, 2006 7:23 PM
As other bloggers mentioned, enforcement will be the major hurdle. Legal decisions already have difficulties to be enforced, so how will they make sure that it works. Anyway, China takes a right step. Within my colleagues, I have seen many people with lung cancer. Smoking is still seen as a kind of virility in Chinese society. Most Chinese businessmen are chain-smokers and if you look at the way they smoke they want to look like Mao Ze Dong smoking. They feel powerful; I think it will be difficult for Chinese to change their habit.
nanheyangrouchuan - December 13, 2006 9:49 PM
@ Romain:
Which habit would you be referring to? The smoking habit or the desire to appear powerful?
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 9:55 PM
Mr. Guerel --
Thanks for checking in. I agree with you that it will be very difficult and if it is to happen at all, will take many many years, probably a generation.
China Law Blog - December 13, 2006 10:12 PM
nanheyangrouchuan
Good question. Both?
other lisa - December 14, 2006 10:58 AM
I've been on two trains where they enforced the smoking ban - both lux trains, one Beijing/Tianjin, the other Beijing/Shanghai.
Then there was Xiamen/Shanghai. Where the smoking was coming from a closed soft sleeper...occupied by train personnel! It was a long schlep, and I was literally sick by the end of it.
CLB, coming from California, where our smoking laws sound on a par with yours in Seattle, this has got to be one of my least favorite things about daily life in China.
Kevin S. - December 14, 2006 6:36 PM
I agree with what many others have said, a non-smoking law would mostly likely go almost completely disregarded by most smokers.
Andrew - December 14, 2006 11:14 PM
I would settle for non-smoking elevators.
China Law Blog - December 15, 2006 6:52 AM
Other Lisa --
One of the things I like best about CA.
But, LA probably has more people wearing workout clothes while smoking than any other city (except maybe Moscow) in the world.
China Law Blog - December 15, 2006 6:53 AM
Kevin S --
Yes, but sometimes a law itself can help initiate change. The law says this is not good. On the flipside, laws that are completely unenforced (or unenforceable) lead people to believe the law (overall) is not serious.
China Law Blog - December 15, 2006 6:59 AM
Andrew --
I do not believe you would settle on anything.
Me, I always try my best to avoid elevators, after having spent 3-4 hours in one in Istanbul on New Year's Eve and 1 hour in one on Sakhalin Island.
other lisa - December 15, 2006 2:56 PM
Dear CLB,
Smoking in work-out clothes, in LA? No way! Where?! Not in my neighborhood...
Lance Webel - December 15, 2006 7:24 PM
I think that it's going to take at least one generation and millions more deaths from cancer before Chinese culture even begins to reject smoking and condemn those who do so. When I taught my Chinese middle school students about the danger of smoking (and its effects on the environment) last week, most of the kids openly laughed at the grim realities facing their nation and their lungs ... and some even lit up as soon as they walked out of the school gate.
But there is hope: http://webel.net/archives/731
China Law Blog - December 15, 2006 8:29 PM
Other Lisa --
Hollywood. Santa Monica.
China Law Blog - December 15, 2006 8:30 PM
Lance --
Great quote! There is hope.
Other Lisa - December 15, 2006 9:40 PM
Hmmph. I'm in Venice, at Gold's. Never seen that. Though I read in the NYT that some yogis are offering yoga and wine retreats...sign me up!
People's Republic of... - December 16, 2006 6:49 AM
if it can be successfully forced upon my fellow Celts, the Irish and the Scots, then a wide-ranging smoking ban can work anywhere. i've not been back to the UK since the new regulations were put in place - it'll be weird to be in a smoke-free pub when I head back for Christmas this week... >
China Law Blog - December 16, 2006 11:18 PM
Other Lisa --
Sounds like a good combo.
China Law Blog - December 16, 2006 11:19 PM
People's Republic --
Thanks for checking in. I have been told even France is starting to cut down on smoking, so if it can happen there, I'm sure you UKers will do just fine also.
liu xiaoming - December 25, 2006 2:53 AM
Thanks for chacking in.I am just a student,so I don't expect my words to be powerful.However, as a chinese,I think it's our duty to improve the health of ourselves.Making smoking in public illegal is a great task of several generations,which is good for all the following generations.
China Law Blog - December 25, 2006 7:21 AM
liu xiaoming --
"Just a student" does not mean your words cannot be powerful. Oftentimes, the power of words is as dependent on the words as on who is speaking them. I concur with you regarding China's health imperatives.
smoking is murder - November 14, 2011 8:45 PM
Nearly 5 years on.... has much changed regarding smoking in Mainland China?